


Devotion

by SapphireDreams



Series: The Liberation Duology [1]
Category: American Idol RPF
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Community: hc_bingo, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-17
Updated: 2015-11-17
Packaged: 2018-05-02 01:40:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5229038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SapphireDreams/pseuds/SapphireDreams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adam slouched forward in his chair and dropped his head into his hands. He was surrounded by FBI agents.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Primary Beta: sbb23, who got the save on this one.  
> Beta: sundaydriver  
> First Reader: _chica02  
> Warnings: Please Read: Intense physical violence, homophobic words and actions  
> Author’s Note: Written for the hc_bingo prompt: Insomnia  
> Disclaimer: The characters in this story are fictional representations only and by no means represent the reality of people’s lives. This story was made for entertainment purposes only. I retain all rights to this story, but I’m paid only in comments and my own personal satisfaction.

Adam slouched forward in his chair and dropped his head into his hands. He was surrounded by FBI agents. They chatted and shouted and clicked away at their keyboards. They moved with a rustle of paper and the heavy tread of boots. Adam couldn’t keep track of anyone. With their dark pants and white tops they all looked the same. Nothing glittered.   
  
There was a bustle of movement around the door and Adam looked up. Cale entered, flanked by agents and looking bedraggled. He had grunge in his hair and airline creases crinkled into his clothes. They locked eyes. At the sight of him, Adam’s world tilted sideways and everything moved just a fraction more out of his control.  
  
Adam punched him. The rage hit him hard and unexpectedly and he trembled with adrenaline. Adam slugged him again and Cale just took it. He was dimly aware of raised voices swirling around them. Cutting through the center of the storm he heard Kim Allen’s voice trying to calm him down. Then there were arms around Adam pulling him back. Tommy. But Tommy wasn’t strong enough to hold Adam so he lunged and hit Cale again.   
  
He shouted, “You should have protected him!”  
  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
  
Adam was home, such as it was. Letting the hot water of the shower stream down his skin, he rolled his shoulders to release some of the tension from sitting cramped in that chair all day. He breathed in the steam and felt his lungs open up. Idly, he realized that he had been quietly singing.  
  
  
_“Wonder this time where you’ve gone,  
wonder if you’re gone to stay  
Ain't no sunshine when you’re gone  
and this house just ain't no home  
anytime you go away.”_  
  
  
He thought of Kris during Top Nine week and then again during the Final Two show. That was the song that had captivated America. But Adam had fallen hard long before then. Even so, he never thought they would be where they are now. He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against the slick tiles.  
  
When Adam opened his eyes again, he found himself sprawled on floor of the shower with a bump on his head. He groaned, rubbed his eyes, and dragged himself out of the shower. Stumbling over to the mirror, Adam examined his head. It didn’t look too bad. He’d have a bruise tomorrow, but at least he wasn’t bleeding. Not sleeping was really getting to him. He grimaced as he caught a good look at his face. He’d been avoiding mirrors the last few days. His eyes were bloodshot and his skin pale and blotchy. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d put on make-up.   
  
He looked at how his multitude of beauty products spread across the entire counter. It looked wrong. He pushed his make-up to his side of the counter. Kris always did that and then teased Adam for taking up more than his fair share of space. The last time it had happened, Adam had made some flip comment and tried to tickle Kris into distraction. After, Kris had kissed him, stroked a finger down imperfect skin, and whispered in his ear that Adam didn’t need those products to be beautiful.   
  
Adam blinked. There were two toothbrushes on the counter and they both had toothpaste on them. He sighed. His hand hovered over the non-sparkling toothbrush. He must have done that without thinking.   
  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
  
“He’s been missing for five days. How can you not have any new updates? What have you been doing all this time?” Adam was irate. On top of that he had a headache building behind his eyes and he was either in desperate need of caffeine or in caffeine overload. He was too far in to know for sure.  
  
“Mr. Lambert. I can assure you that we are working to find your friend as fast as we can.”  
  
“Boyfriend. He’s my boyfriend. My fucking partner. We’ve been together for three years and you know it. I shut down my tour, flew across the whole damn country, and I’ve been sitting here for four fucking days you blind, ignorant, fucking asshole.” Adam’s hands fisted at his sides, the torn skin around his knuckles pulled taught and stinging.   
  
“Mr. Lambert,” the agent grit out between clenched teeth, “We are doing the best we can. But we’d get more done a lot faster if you would sit down and stop interrupting us.”  
  
Adam spun the other direction, stomped over to his chair, and slammed down into it. Tommy wordlessly handed him a sandwich.   
  
“Mama Allen made it.”   
  
“You should go home. I shouldn’t have dragged you across the country with me.”  
  
“You drag me across the country all the time. If I minded I would have quit years ago.”  
  
“Tommy…”  
  
“Adam.” Tommy brushed Adam’s hair back from his face. “Listen, like, everything is going to work out. He’s gonna be okay. I know it.”  
  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
  
The day wore on. Adam leaned his head against Tommy’s shoulder and zoned out. He watched the second hand move around the clock in endless circles. Nearby, he could hear the soft murmurings of the Allens conversing with Cale. Nothing they said penetrated the fog in his brain.  
  
So he shrieked and jumped out of his skin when a red-headed tornado slammed into him.   
  
“Adam! Oh my God, I got here as soon as I could. How are you doing? Have you been eating? When was the last time you slept for more than an hour? Oh my God!”  
  
Allison had arrived.  
  
On closer inspection, Adam realized that Allison was bogged down with at least four different shopping bags. They rattled and jumped as she frantically moved down the line to greet each person. Once she finished, she returned to give Kim and then Adam an extra squeeze.  
  
“Okay, so I came, like, totally prepared. I’m on a mission. I heard through the grapevine that you are all tired and exhausted. I am the cavalry.”  
  
She shoved all of her bags onto Tommy’s lap and he scrambled to keep them from falling.   
  
“Okay, first of all, I brought an assortment of aspirin, tylenol, whatever. If you have a headache, I’m your girl.” She moved down the row of seats, handing each person a different kind of pain killer. “Next, food! I got Subway. You shouldn’t take medicine on an empty stomach anyway, my mom always says. Oh, and water. I don’t care if you’re not thirsty, everyone needs to drink at least one bottle. Right now. That includes you Big Brother.” Allison grabbed another set of bags and shoveled meals onto everyone’s laps. Then she pulled out two boxes of donut holes and distributed them among the FBI agents.  
  
She crouched down near Adam and whispered, “My mom always says that people will work harder for you if they like you. So I’m sucking up with donuts, but don’t tell them I said that.”  
  
Adam saw Kimberly Allen gesture to Allison as Neil took a big bite of his Italian sub. “Allison, sweetie. Thank you so much. Kris and Adam have such good friends.”  
  
“They’re my big brothers. This is what we do.”  
  
“I don’t like balls,” Tommy mumbled. Everyone swung their heads to look at him.   
  
“You don’t like balls?” Allison looked confused. “I think I knew you were straight. I did know that, right? Adam?”  
  
“Meat balls, I don’t like  _meat_  balls.”  
  
“Still confused.”  
  
“The sub! I don’t like meatball subs! Does anyone want to trade?”  
  
Adam watched the conversation ping back and forth. He couldn’t help the slight smile that snuck up onto his face.   
  
“I’ll trade. I have Italian. Is that okay?”   
  
Cale. Adam had almost forgotten about him. Tommy eagerly reached out his hand to trade. Adam shot a glare at Cale and out of the corner of his eye he saw Tommy shrink back. Allison looked between the three of them with confusion and then dawning understanding.  
  
“Um, I think I still have a few extra, Tommy, why don’t you grab another one from the bag.” She paused as her attention diverted to the news program on the corner TV.  
  
  
_In other news, the whereabouts of 29-year-old American Idol Kris Allen are still unknown. Allen had been visiting the Petén jungle of Guatemala on a humanitarian mission as part of the annual Idol Gives Back charity show when he mysteriously went missing. He was last seen in the company of a man and woman who have since been determined to be imposters posing as members of the humanitarian team. Authorities have classified Allen’s disappearance as a kidnapping and they are working to discover the identity of these two individuals. Kris Allen’s longtime partner, 32-year-old glam rock superstar Adam Lambert, has been unable to be reached for comment. More on this story during News at 10._  
  
  
Images flashed on the screen of the mission tents in the jungle, various hungry looking children, and the humanitarian team. Then they showed a picture of Kris with Adam. Hand-in-hand on the red carpet from last year’s Grammy’s, they were dressed in crisp black from head to toe. With love in their eyes and laughter on their lips, they shone in the lights of a million flashbulbs.   
  
“We were so happy.” Adam could feel his throat closing up and he pressed his lips together as he struggled to contain his tears. His gaze drifted down to his lap as the newscasters moved on to another story. He could see the silent gestures and mouthed conversation going on around him from his peripheral vision.  
  
Allison sat herself in his lap and put her hands on his shoulders.  
  
“Adam, honey, I’m going to take you home. We’ll come back later, but for now you need to eat and get some sleep away from all this chaos.”  
  
Adam’s lip trembled. “But Kris needs me.”  
  
Allison stroked the limp tangles of his hair. “Of course, he does, baby. But it’s not your turn yet. Kris is in good hands for now, I promise. The actual FBI is on the case, can you believe it? The United States embassy is working on it. Hell, Kris is international news so I’ll bet even the President knows about it. And they will find him.” She braced her hands on either side of his face. “Say it. Say, ‘They will find Kris. And he will be okay.’”  
  
“Allison…”  
  
“Say it!”  
  
“They will find Kris. And he will be okay.” Despite himself, Adam could feel his heart lift just a tad from the strength of Allison’s belief. The words came out stronger than he thought possible.  
  
Allison resumed her petting of his hair. “Now, when they find Kris you will have to be ready to fly out with barely a moment’s notice to bundle him up and cover him with hugs and kisses, right?”  
  
“Right.”  
  
“And in order to fly out on your white charger or whatever to the rescue, you need to be strong and healthy. So that means we leave now and eat and rest up and listen to music and write horribly sappy songs until it’s our turn to act. Our turn to help Kris when he needs us.”  
  
Adam leaned his head on Allison’s shoulder. He nodded.  
  
“Alright.” Allison looked sternly at the rest of the group. “That goes for everyone. I want everyone to go home now. Mr. Allen will have the FBI call him with any updates and he and Mrs. Allen will call everyone every four hours regardless of whether there are updates or not, just to keep everyone in the loop.”  
  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
  
Adam was lying under the covers in his bed. Allison was sprawled out beside him, lightly snoring. She had one arm strewn across his chest and a foot peeked out beneath the covers with a purple sock half off. She was warm beside him and he felt some of the tension behind his eyes release. He wasn’t used to sleeping alone while he was at home.  
  
He hated being awake and he hated being asleep. These days he felt like his mind was perpetually trapped between a rock and a hard place, or between Scylla and Charybdis, according to the mythology in the background of his astrology. Charybdis was the whirlpool of worry trapping his thoughts and pounding upon the strength of his mind while he was awake. Scylla was the monster at the rocks that launched nightmares at him while he slept and destroyed the hope in his heart.  
  
Something on Kris’ nightstand glinted in the moonlight. Kris’ spare pair of glasses. Right where Kris left them, tossed to the wayside the last time they had made love. It had been late at night and they had both been sitting up to write lyrics. For a while they had swapped ideas and critiques back and forth, but it had gotten late and they had both fallen silent. Adam had looked across at Kris and seen him doodling their names across his paper. It had made him glow on the inside and he’d mused again about how lucky he was, how wonderful it was to still be so in love even after all this time of living together. Adam had captured Kris’ hand and Kris had blushed and bit his lip at being caught. He’d looked so hot in those glasses. So Adam had sucked Kris’ plump bottom lip and then licked his way down that blush. He’d pushed up Kris’ shirt and mouthed kisses across his chest. Then, Kris had grabbed his head and smashed their lips together, knocking his glasses askew. Adam had laughed and rubbed their noses together in an Eskimo kiss. Giggling, Kris had ripped off the glasses and thrown them onto the nightstand. Their lovemaking had been rambunctious and full of laughter that night.   
  
Adam’s arms ached with a phantom pain. Would he ever know the feeling of holding Kris again?   
  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
  
_It was dark and Adam was floating. He was in a rickety building with a dirt floor. Shadows moved in the corner of the room. A face turned into the light. It was Kris. His eyes were closed and there were dark bruises spreading along his jaw and up to his temple. His hair was dirty and matted. Adam screamed out silent fury, but he couldn’t make himself be heard.  
  
Two men lumbered into the scene, wide-chested with guns at their sides. One knelt down and slapped Kris across the face. Kris startled and cringed back into the darkness. They hauled him up by his elbows and Adam saw that Kris’ hands were bound behind his back. His plaid shirt, ripped and dirty, hung open over a white t-shirt speckled with blood. Once on his feet, Kris’ spine straightened and he glared at each man in turn and spewed words at them. Adam could see Kris’ mouth moving; his lips looked dry and chapped. But he couldn’t quite make out what he was saying. It was like there was a barrier of invisible cotton between him and Kris. All sounds that reached Adam were muted and unintelligible. Anger flashed across the men’s faces. One swung his fist back and Kris braced himself for impact. Adam tried to shout, tried to move to hit the man, but he could only watch. _  
  
  
Adam’s eyes snapped open. His heart was pounding, thump-thump, thump-thump. He sat up and rubbed at his face while trying to take calming breaths. It was just a nightmare. His imagination was getting to him.   
  
Adam looked at the clock. He had only slept for an hour.  
  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
  
Time moved slowly. Adam and Allison had spent the day wandering from one activity to another. Upon waking, Allison had made them scrambled eggs and burnt toast. Then they’d put in a random movie that they’d both pretended to watch. Adam had curled his legs underneath himself and snuggled against Allison’s side, her arms around him. Afterwards, Allison had declared them both in need of some beauty maintenance so they’d done each other’s nails. Midnight blue for Adam and Razzle Dazzle Red for Allison. For lunch they’d made soup from a can and Adam had forced down a bowl of chicken and stars. Kris had bought those stars for him as both a joke and a gesture of affection. Maybe some people would have rather had flowers, but Adam loved how Kris always thought of him in the little things. Grand gestures were nice, but fleeting. Grocery shopping love was proof of forever. He wanted his forever back.  
  
The phone rang. Adam sighed and blew a breath across his mug, making waves ripple across his coffee. Allison had been getting calls every fours hours on the dot, but it was all just a bunch of nothingness. There was never any news and each call sent Adam just a little further into despair.  
  
“What?!” Allison squeaked. “Those bastards.”  
  
Adam froze, his knuckles white as he gripped his mug.  
  
“Okay, we’ll be right over. Yes! Of course I’ll drive safely. No, Mrs. Allen, I promise not to speed. Okay, see you then.”  
  
Allison hung up the phone.  
  
“Alright, the FBI identified the two people who took Kris. We’re all going down to the office to get more information, okay?”  
  
Adam slammed his mug down and was out the door in two minutes flat.  
  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
  
“Their names are Lucas and Richelle Macklin, 43 and 37 years old, respectively. Initial investigation has qualified them as the charismatic leaders of a small cult.”   
  
The agent handed two grainy photographs around the table. Adam thought the couple looked so ordinary. They were a fairly good looking couple. He was a dark-haired, strong looking man. She was a blonde blue-eyed beauty. Dressed in casual jeans and polo shirts, they didn’t look sinister or capable of kidnapping.   
  
He hated them. The fury slammed into him as he held the pictures and suddenly he was shaking with rage.  
  
“We traced them back to their website which advertises their organization. They call it the Original World Order. Their main tenets include promoting the “original world order” of male and female monogamous partnerships, wherein the male is the dominant and the female is submissive. They also state that it is their mission to punish other types of relationships in order to, as they say, ‘stop the flow of aberration into the next generation.’”   
  
Allison and Tommy, on either side of Adam, exchanged glances and then moved to envelop Adam with their arms.   
  
“They don’t appear to be affiliated with any one religion. Instead, there’s a hodgepodge of quotes and scriptures on their page. Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, hell, even some ancient Greek story about Zeus made the website.”  
  
“Do you know where they are?” asked Kim Allen. “Oh, my poor baby.” She clutched at Neil and pressed a hand to her mouth.  
  
“We got a warrant for their arrest and raided their home in Texas. The house was mostly cleaned out, but we found a collection of articles on Mr. Allen as well as Mr. Lambert. It seems that they left the information there for us to find.”  
  
Here the agent paused. He glanced at Adam, before quickly looking away. “As this is an ongoing investigation, we don’t want to release too much more information…”  
  
“Bullshit!” Adam slammed his hands on the table. “We’ve waited long enough. We promise we won’t release any information to the press.” His gaze hardened. “You are going to tell us everything you know.”   
  
They stared at each other until the agent sighed. “Listen, Mr. Lambert, it’s still early in our investigation of the house. I didn’t want to upset you, but right now, it’s looking like Mr. Allen was not the couple’s initial target.”  
  
Adam felt a stone sink kerplop into the depths of his stomach.  
  
“It was me, wasn’t it? I’m the out, loud-and-proud, glittery in-your-face gay. Oh, God. It was me they wanted.” His face crumpled in dismay. He ran his hands over his eyes and then pulled at his hair.  
  
The agent looked compassionate. “Yes, I’m afraid that’s what it looks like. We’ve found documents that indicate they tried to get access to you at least twice and failed. We understand that your security is much tighter than Mr. Allen’s, correct?”  
  
“Yeah, both my fans and my haters seem to be more, well, extreme than Kris’. So I’ve always had more security than him. And he hates having people follow him around like that anyway.”  
  
“When they found out that Mr. Allen would be attending a humanitarian mission in a remote location, they assumed correctly that the security would not be as tight. So they changed their target.”  
  
When Neil spoke up, his voice was strained. He asked the questions that Adam was afraid to ask. “What do you think they want him for? Is there any chance that he’s still alive?”  
  
“Neil, hush,” Kim said. “Of course he’s still alive.” She rubbed her husband’s back. “Right?” She looked to the agent.  
  
“At this point in time we have no reason to believe otherwise, though with each passing day his chances of survival do decrease. We’re not sure what the couple plan to do with him. What we do know is that they were angling to expand their organization. They have some followers, but not many. Hence their objective in attacking a high profile gay couple.”  
  
“So, what does this all mean?” Allison asked.  
  
“It means we expect them to publicly claim responsibility for the kidnapping within the next 24 hours.”  
  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
  
_Kris. Adam could see him but couldn’t touch. He was a ghost. But the desire to hold Kris overwhelmed him. Kris was sitting with his hands tied to a post driven into the ground behind him. Fresh blood dripped down the side of his dirt streaked face. His expression was a slate of stone and showed no fear, but Adam knew better. He could tell by the flare deep within Kris’ eyes. He was terrified.  
  
A man crouched in front of Kris, but Adam couldn’t see his face. Kris said something that Adam couldn’t hear, but then the scene wavered and Adam could hear the man’s response.  
  
“Do you know how man and woman were created? God made man first, but man was lonely. So God took one of man’s ribs and from him created woman. She became man’s perfect companion. A part of each other; made for each other. Do you know what that makes you?”  
  
“Screw you.” Kris glared at the man.  
  
The man pulled a gun and shoved it under Kris’ chin, the barrel caressing the bruises circling Kris’ neck. Kris stilled, eyes wide and breath stuttering. Then the man slowly wove his fingers through Kris’ hair and used his leverage to slam Kris’ head back into the post. Kris closed his eyes and gritted his teeth together. Adam’s mind screamed at him to do something.  
  
“You are an abomination. One that must be cleansed from this world.” He backhanded Kris across the face, splitting Kris’ lip open. “But still, you have your uses. We will be the beacon of light that leads the way. And we will use you to send a message.” _  
  
  
Adam gasped and sat up, dislodging both Allison and Tommy from beside him. He shook his head. Just another nightmare.  
  
Allison turned over and mumbled in her sleep, but didn’t wake up. Adam looked down at Tommy and found his eyes open.  
  
“Adam,” Tommy whispered, “Have you been having this much trouble every night?”  
  
Adam nodded and closed his eyes. He heard Tommy get out of bed. When he next looked, he saw a white pill in Tommy’s outstretched hand.  
  
“Here, it’s a sleeping pill.”  
  
“Tommy….”  
  
“Adam, just take it. You need to, like, sleep for a longer period of time. You’re falling to pieces.”  
  
Adam took the pill and swallowed it dry. He tried to lick the bitter taste out of his mouth as Tommy pulled him back down onto the bed.  
  
“I just keep thinking about what those bastards could be doing to Kris. And I can’t stop dreaming about it. What if they’re hurting him?” Adam leaned his head into Tommy’s shoulder.  
  
“It was just a dream, Adam.” Tommy’s voice was soft and soothing. “Dreams are just dreams. Get some sleep; things will seem better in the morning.”  
  
Adam’s last words before he faded away were, “I just wish I could do more to help him. Everything feels so out of my control.”  
  
  
_The world was over-saturated with sharp contrasts of color. Adam could hear everything from the shuffle of feet to the crackle of the fire as a metal rod was thrust into its midst and the blaze grew higher. Kris was still tied to the post. His lips were cracked and bleeding and he breathed in shallow whiffs of air, as if he did not want to shake his body with a proper breath. Purpling bruises crept out from under the collar of his shirt. Kris watched his captors move across the room with eyes sharply focused and wary. Men in robes of green and women in white. A door opened as a man came in carrying a camera and Adam caught a glimpse of an immense expanse of water and, in the distance, mountains dotted with stones.  
  
Two people stood like pillars in the middle of the swirl of activity. They stood close to each other, engrossed in a private conversation. The man gently caressed the woman’s face and kissed her. When he pulled away, Adam saw who they were. Lucas and Richelle Macklin. Adam’s spirit shot up in strength and size. He blazed with light. The depth of his love would shield Kris. The weight of his fury would crush them. He threw himself at his enemies - and passed right through them. They remained untouched and unaffected. Adam felt himself shrinking with despair as the couple glided over to kneel on either side of Kris. The others spread out in a semi-circle around them.  
  
The camera was rolling; the show had begun. No lead role for Adam. This time, he was cast in the role of a spectator.  
  
“We are the Original World Order,” Lucas said. “We will guide the world back to its roots and direct men and women to enter partnerships the way they were originally intended. Man and woman, together, with the man to lead and the woman to follow. She will be his shield and he will be her sword.” Lucas caressed Richelle’s face and she smiled at him and kissed his hand.  
  
“There are some who would lead the world down the path of darkness. Adam Lambert and Kris Allen are two such people. They would glamorize their lifestyle and tempt others to do the same.”   
  
Kris held his head high and looked straight at the camera.   
  
Richelle’s hand grasped Kris’s throat and he struggled against her hold, feet kicking. Lucas braced his arm on the post above Kris’ head.  
  
“Do you know how man and woman were created? Once each being had four arms, four legs, and a single head with two faces. The gods feared our power, so Zeus threw down his thunderbolts and split each being in two. One became man and the other woman. And so we go about our lives searching for our other half, our soulmate. It is the original world order that man and woman be together. Do you know what that makes you, Kris Allen?”  
  
Kris wrenched himself from Richelle’s hold. “Adam and I love each other. We complement and complete each other. He is my soulmate, and I am his. It doesn’t matter that…”  
  
Lucas slammed his fist into Kris’ ribs. Kris tried to double over, but Richelle resumed her hold on his neck and slammed him back into the post. Kris’ eyes snapped shut and he pressed his lips together, letting no noise of pain escape him.  
  
A moment later he looked at Lucas and glared.  
  
“You can hurt me, but you can’t stop us from loving each other.”  
  
Lucas’ face slowly changed as an ugly rage crept over his features. He nodded at Richelle and then stalked over to the fire.  
  
Richelle trailed her fingers down Kris’ chest in mock gentleness. She pushed up his shirt.  
  
“Stop. What are you doing?” Kris squirmed.   
  
Adam couldn’t take his eyes off Kris’ as he tried to impart to him his love and strength. So he was surprised when the side of Kris’ face was suddenly illuminated with the soft glow of red hot metal. Adam’s mind recoiled. A brand. Two circles, one inside the other, connected by a W than ran through them. O – W – O. Original World Order.  
  
Kris pulled at his restraints and tried to lean away as Lucas inched the brand closer.  
  
“Do you know what you are Kris Allen? You are an abomination. One that must be cleansed from this world.”   
  
Richelle unbuttoned Kris’ jeans and slid the zipper down. She pushed the material away. Lucas moved the brand down to hover over Kris’ exposed hip.   
  
Kris twisted his body away. The brand slowly descended. For a moment Adam felt as though time had stilled as the room paused and held their collective breaths. In that extended moment he noticed every detail. The angry red of the brand, the soft glow of light cast upon Kris’ trembling skin, the beads of sweat running down Kris' forehead.  
  
Contact.   
  
Kris screamed and time resumed and raced. Richelle held Kris down as Lucas forced the brand down harder. Kris screamed again and then his body went slack. _  
  
  
Adam was awake and tumbling over Tommy to reach the bathroom. Knees crashing onto the tiles, he threw up into the toilet. He was still shaking when Allison and Tommy came into the room, one with a blanket and the other with a glass of water.  
  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
  
Another day, another hour spent in the confines of an FBI debriefing room. The Allens were quietly whispering to Allison and Tommy. Adam knew they were talking about him again. He swirled the dredges of his coffee around the bottom of his Styrofoam cup. Looking up as Cale entered the room, Adam glared and Cale faltered in his steps. Cale approached Adam anyway and the room stilled in wary anticipation.  
  
Cale’s hands shook as he braced himself on the table. “Adam, have you checked your Twitter account lately?”  
  
“No. I told my people to go hang and I shut off everything. Why?”  
  
“You’ve been getting a lot of replies, and I just wanted to warn you before you clicked on a link.”  
  
“Warn me?”  
  
Just then an FBI agent bustled into the room carrying a laptop.   
  
“Alright, everyone. We’ve had a major development in the case and, unfortunately, it’s already all over the news. Mr. Lambert, you’ll probably want to get in contact with your PR people.”  
  
She booted up the computer. “The OWO released a video to YouTube this morning.”  
  
“A video?” Adam paled. He felt his stomach drop out from under him.  
  
“We traced it back to its source, but unfortunately didn’t find anything useful. They covered their tracks too well. I have to warn you, the video is not pleasant.”  
  
The agent continued, debriefing them concerning the contents of the video. Then she pressed play.  
  
“We are the Original World Order…”  
  
Adam watched as Lucas made his speech, as Kris talked back, as they burned him. He felt his mind strain to breaking under the impossibility. He wanted to look away, to deny, but he was transfixed.  _It was all the same._  
  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
  
The Allens had gone back to their hotel, and Allison, Tommy, and Cale had all followed Adam back to the house. Adam paced. He’d had a proper freak-out, been calmed down, explained about how his nightmares seemed to be visions of actual events, watched everyone else freak out, calmed them down, and now he was back to freaking out again. Gotta love those full-circle moments.  
  
“Why is he here again?” He gestured to Cale.  
  
“Adam.” Allison put her hands on her hips. “It wasn’t his fault and he’s sad too. We need to stick together.”  
  
Adam glared at her but it was impossible to keep up. Adam had this theory that Allison had a secret superpower which forced him to give in to her. Every. Single. Time.  
  
Tommy spoke up, cutting through the tension. “Like, not that I don’t believe you Adam, but how is this even happening? How can you be dreaming about what’s actually happening to Kris?”  
  
“They’re soulmates,” said Allison. “It’s written in the stars, right Adam? Miracles can happen, and Adam and Kris have always had a special connection.”  
  
Adam gestured to Allison as if to say, ‘There you go.’ He didn’t care how or why the fuck it was happening. He was a believer in ties of destiny and the powers of the universe. Maybe it was his Aquarius psychic intuition, but he knew the dreams were real and that was all that mattered. If they helped him find Kris, that was good enough for him. He paced some more, mumbling. Suddenly, a minor detail of the dream flashed through his mind. He put his hand to his forehead and concentrated.   
  
“I saw something. I saw more than what was in that video.”  
  
That got everyone’s attention and they all sat up straighter and held their breath.   
  
“When the door opened I saw a bunch of water, like a huge lake. Way huge. And there were some mountains in the distance that had weird rocks or something on them. It was hard to tell.”  
  
Cale spoke up. “Stones on mountains might be the Mayan temples. They’re pretty big but from far away they might have just looked like stones to you. Some of the locals were telling us about them. They’re a popular tourist destination, but they were pretty far from where we were located so we weren’t going to be able to see them.”  
  
“Okay,” said Allison. “So we’re looking for a big lake and some Mayan temples. Let’s use the power of Google.”   
  
Ten minutes later they had a possible general location and the beginnings of a crazy plan.


	2. Chapter 2

They were on a plane to Guatemala, all four of them. They’d packed in a hurry. Adam had spouted some sort of excuse to the Allens and the FBI, and the next thing he knew, he was up in the air. Given the positioning of the lake and the temples from the dream and the location of the humanitarian camp, they had concluded that Kris was being held somewhere on the south side of Lake Petén Itza. Unfortunately, it was one huge ass lake.   
  
But Adam had a plan. He would just have to dream more. Unfortunately, he still couldn’t sleep, and the more he tried to fall asleep the more awake he felt.  
  
“Tommy, I need another pill.”  
  
“Sure thing, rock star.”  
  
“Wait,” said Allison. Her eyebrows knit together and formed a crease between her eyes. “So that’s the master plan? Sleeping pills for dream visions?”  
  
“I have to sleep somehow, Alli.”  
  
“Fine, just be careful with those things.”  
  
“It’s not like I’m making it a habit,” he snapped. “Besides, the only thing that matters is Kris.”  
  
She put her hands up. “Okay, I’m just a little worried about you, is all. You have to take care of yourself too.”  
  
Tommy fluttered his hand. “It’s just Ambien, girl. Not habit forming, or whatever. He’ll be fine.”  
  
  
_“I prefer the old ways. We’ll stone him to death.”  
  
“It will certainly make for a good show.”  
  
Adam could hear the voices just beyond the door. He panicked. At least he tried to panic. With no body to speak of it was his mind that took all the pressure, racing and tripping over itself in devastation and desperation.  
  
Kris was pale and shaking and Adam knew that Kris had heard the plans as well. His jeans were still open and the Adam could see the burn. The mark of the brand was white and leathery; the skin around it red and blistered.   
  
Kris shifted bound arms that wouldn’t cooperate and groaned. Adam could see the pain and frustration written across the lines of Kris’ face. Kris took a deep breath and strained his muscles one more time, his whole body arching up off the floor. And then, with a snap, he was free of his restraints. Adam felt shock, joy, fear, and hope all at once. Kris lay on the dirt floor with his chest heaving and his eyes closed. Then he slowly struggled up and gingerly touched trembling fingers to his wrists, skin torn ragged along lines of open bloody wounds. Leaning against the wall, Kris pulled himself to his feet. He swayed. After a minute, he moved down the wall. There, at the back, Adam saw the prize. It was only a small and rustic hut that imprisoned Kris. Walls shoddily made and thin, it had a small opening in the wall where the boards had broken and succumbed to the weather. Kris knelt down and tried to squeeze through. It was too small. Kris sobbed once but then paused to collect himself and gather strength. He would have to force his way through.  
  
Shouting erupted just outside the door. Kris’ eyes widened in fear. He pushed at the boards with an ever increasing frenzy of motion. His clothing ripped and the boards tore into his skin, but he kept going. His face reflected anguish. _  
  
  
Ringing pushed Adam back into the waking world. He sat up, dizzy, and tried to reorient himself.   
  
“Really? Oh my God! That’s so awesome Mrs. Allen!” Allison squealed. A flight attendant glared at her, and gestured for her to turn off her phone.   
  
“Okay, okay,” mouthed Allison. She turned to once more whisper into her phone. “When? Okay. Let me tell the others.” She hung up.  
  
Cale and Tommy crowded into the walkway next to Allison. Allison threw herself into Adam’s arms, causing his head to bump into the window behind him.   
  
“The FBI found Kris’ location! Well, his possible location. But still! They’re working on making their move right now! By the time we get there maybe they’ll have him. Oh my God!”  
  
Adam hugged her back with all his strength. And then his heart skipped a beat as the dream whirled into the forefront of his mind.   
  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
  
Adam raced through the airport with Allison, Tommy, and Cale close behind him. The squeak, squeak, squeak of their shoes on the linoleum floor and shuffle, pound, shake of their bags added to the ever increasing cacophony of sounds around them. Everything had come crashing down. The FBI had found the site, but Lucas and Richelle had slipped through their fingers and Kris was nowhere to be found. Adam didn’t know whether Kris had escaped or if Lucas and Richelle had taken him again. And then, the icing on the cake, or the flies on the shit pile – the paparazzi had found their little gang.   
  
“Adam, Adam, have you heard any word from Kris?”  
  
“Adam, why are you in Guatemala? Have the FBI found Kris? Are you here to look for him yourself?”  
  
“Adam, is it true that you and Tommy are having an affair?”  
  
Adam whirled on the pap, expression fierce.   
  
“Fuck you!” He reached for the man’s camera.  
  
Coming up behind him, Cale slammed full body into Adam and propelled him forward. Then Allison was tugging his hand and he had no choice but to keep moving.  
  
Adam growled and a hundred more flashes went off in his eyes, blinding him and increasing his rage. Adam glared at Cale, the paparazzi, everyone around him. People needed to stop getting in his way and telling him what to do. It was his plan, and his Kris, and he would do what he wanted, dammit.   
  
“Adam, come on, we can’t miss our flight,” said Allison.  
  
Adam acquiesced to the demands of the moment. They had one more flight to take, a tiny plane for the short hop into the Petén jungle.  
  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
  
_Shadows cast by moonlight loomed all around them as Adam followed Kris into the jungle. Kris was alone. Adam felt a wave of relief rush through his spirit. He’d gotten away. On the other hand, Kris was alone. That meant he had no one to help him. Shit.  
  
Kris tramped wearily through the underbrush. Jungle noises and new smells assaulted Adam from all sides as he followed after. The air was thick with humidity. Kris should be sweating like crazy, but he wasn’t. It was dehydration, Adam knew, and his spirit sagged. How was his boy going to survive out here all by himself? Browning streaks of red splashed across Kris’ white shirt and long gashes peaked through the torn cloth. Kris had ripped his plaid shirt into strips to make a makeshift bandage to wrap around his waist. It dripped with cool water to ease burning flesh. Kris stumbled. Adam reached out to catch him but Kris fell right through him, landing hard on rocks and branches. He lay there and did not get up. Adam tried to touch him, to put his arms around him, but he was only a whisper of starlight.   
  
“Adam, Adam, Adam, Adam….”  
  
He could only listen as Kris’ chapped lips and hoarse voice whispered his name over and over again. He could do nothing but feel both their hearts breaking.  
  
“Adam. It hurts. And I’m lost and so, so hungry. I don’t know what to do.” Kris rolled onto his side, moving his burn away from the ground. His body shook with sobs. Lines of tears reflected light from his face and dirt and leaves clung to his hair.   
  
“I need you.” _  
  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
  
“Adam,” said Tommy. “You are driving like a crazy person. What good will sneaking out of the hotel and bribing the rental guy be if the paps find us because you  _got us all killed_?!”  
  
Tommy clung to the seat of the 4x4 as Adam cut another car off and hit a bump in the road.  
  
“Chill, Tommy, we’re in a hurry. These rocky roads ain’t gonna slow our rescue down.”  
  
“Allison! Did you just quote your song to me?!” Tommy’s voice was shrill. “Adam is – for God’s sake use your turn signal!”  
  
“Adam, take a left when you hit the next intersection, that will take us out of the city,” said Cale. He was studying a satellite GPS and fiddling with an international phone – impulse and guilt driven buys from the Guatemala City airport. He was also, pointedly, not criticizing Adam’s driving.  
  
“You heard the rental guy,” Adam said, “Road rules are only casually enforced here. Drive defensively and stick my hand out the window before doing anything crazy. I stuck my hand out so shut the fuck up.” He made the left, barely slowing down. “Kris is…, I told you, we just need to hurry!”  
  
“We won’t be helping him if we’re, like, dead when we get there! Shit, these other cars look like crap. There’s wires hanging out of that one. How the hell are they even on the road?”  
  
“They don’t have vehicle inspections here,” said Cale. “Listen, Adam, I think I’ve got a handle on our general direction. If you want, I can drive for a while so you can get some sleep. We’re going to need to find some clues to a more specific location.”  
  
Silence in the vehicle. Adam sighed and his shoulders slumped. He pulled the car over to the side of the road and twisted around in his seat to look back at Cale for a long hard moment.   
  
“Fine.” They both got out of the truck to switch positions. Then Adam snagged another sleeping pill from Tommy. He watched Cale fidget with the mirrors. The guy really was worried about Kris. Turning the pill over in his hands, he mused for a moment about Kris and Cale, and what Kris would want from him. Everything was so crazy and Adam just wanted to fix everything or at least something, anything at all. He couldn’t be there helping Kris right now, but there was something else he could take control of and do for him.  
  
“Cale. I know it wasn’t your fault.”  
  
Cale’s head whipped around to stare at Adam. He swallowed hard.  
  
“Thanks Adam, that means a lot. A whole lot.”  
  
Adam nodded, took the pill, and settled down to sleep once more.  
  
  
_Kris was squeezed into the back of a truck with twenty other men and boys. It looked to Adam like the only thing holding him up was the pressure of other bodies pushed up against his. They were driving fast down a dirt road and the wind whipped through Kris’ hair and pulled the moisture from his eyes.  
  
Some time later, the truck slowed to a stop and most of the occupants jumped off the back. Kris was lifted down by the hands of two men. For a moment, Adam panicked again. Who were these people? He didn’t want anyone touching Kris.  
  
The men kept hold of Kris’ arms as they led him into the village. Adam’s essence followed them, an itch buzzing through his system. He just wanted to grab Kris out of their dirty hands. They brought him inside a small one-room house and manipulated him until he was lying down on a small corner bed. Kris’ eyes showed confusion. He struggled to get up but they shushed him with calming voices and pressed him down again. One man left the room.  
  
Kris’ muscles relaxed in acceptance and he sunk deeper into the bed. Adam’s hand hovered near Kris’ face. His boy didn’t have the strength to resist anymore. But God only knew what these people were going to do to him. Face ashen with shivers wracking his body, Kris was beaten down and worn out.   
  
A woman dressed in bright colors entered the building. She had a large cowboy hat on her head, woven out of grasses. Adam’s spirit lifted. She had kind eyes.  
  
“I came as soon as I could. I left Will at the market to sell my hats.”   
  
“Vivi, thank God. He’s pretty bad off, and obviously not from around here.”   
  
Adam could tell they were speaking in Spanish, but soul-to-soul he understood what they were saying.   
  
The woman brushed Kris’ hair back and felt his forehead. She tutted. She examined the cuts around his body and then moved to open Kris’ makeshift bandage. The fabric had dried and stuck to the burn. Moving the bandage pulled at Kris’ skin. He screamed. Startled, the woman clutched at her heart. Kris was left breathless and begging.   
  
“Please, please…” He weakly put his hands out in front of him, warding her off.  
  
“God be with us.” The woman had regained her wits by then. “It’s going to be okay, little one. We’ll take care of you the best we can.”  
  
“Rafa, go get me some water and clean cloth. He may be hungry as well. We still have a little rice and tamales left over from lunch, don’t we? Bring that to me as well, hurry.”  
  
Her image wavered and her voice faded. Then Adam found himself drifting away. _  
  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
  
Night and day passed again and again. They had been driving around from village to village, asking around for a Rafa, Vivi, and Will. Nothing. Adam had managed to dream a little, but found nothing more useful than knowledge of Kris’ worsening condition. Vivi could only do so much with limited knowledge and supplies and there were no doctors in the area. Kris’ wounds had become infected and his fever had grown steadily more dangerous.  
  
“We’ve still got a bunch of extra tanks of gas,” said Allison. “We’ll just keep driving until we can drive no more. And then we’ll walk.”  
  
“Does this village look like the one Kris was in?” Cale asked.  
  
“I don’t know.” Adam groaned in frustration. “They all look so similar.”  
  
Tommy leaned out the side of the car and gestured to a little boy who happened to be near the road.  
  
“Hey, do you know a Rafa, Vivi, or a Will? Or all three?” He made some elaborate gestures around the top of his head, possibly indicating the presence of a large cowboy hat. “Vivi? She sells hats?”  
  
Allison rolled her eyes. Hard. “How many times do I have to tell you to let me do the talking? I. Speak. Spanish.” She pulled at his hair for emphasis.  
  
The kid laughed and gestured to his own head. “Vivi. Sombrero?”  
  
“Yes, yes! Sí!” All four of them scrambled to stick their heads out of the window to look at the boy. Allison and Cale knocked heads.  
  
The boy gestured for them to follow him and Adam threw himself out the door. Allison and Tommy were quick to do the same.  
  
“I’ll follow you guys with the truck,” Cale said.  
  
The boy strutted off into the heart of the village, swinging a stick and whistling. He seemed to enjoy leading this parade of foreigners as all eyes in the village turned to him. Some tried to sell them their goods. Children came up and danced around Adam, Allison, and Tommy.   
  
Adam tried to be nice to them, but his smile was strained. He just needed to find Kris.   
  
Another truck swerved out in front of them, throwing dust into their faces. Allison lunged for the boy and pulled him behind her.  
  
Lucas and Richelle. Adam’s jaw dropped and he froze in shock. Lucas looked right into Adam’s eyes, flashed his gun, smirked, threw the truck back into gear and sped off down a side street.  
  
“Fucking shit! Cale, follow him! He might have Kris already!” Adam shouted.  
  
“No,” Tommy hissed. “He might not, in which case we’ll need the truck for a quick get-away.”  
  
“He’s out to kill. We need to stick together,” Allison said.  
  
Cale looked torn and was breathing hard. His fingers clutched at the steering wheel as he looked to Adam for answers.  
  
Adam gnawed at a fingernail. “Okay, we stick together. Let’s find this Vivi and hope that she still has Kris, fast.”  
  
Allison encouraged the boy to hurry. Still fearful from his near miss with the truck, the boy gave no reluctance to picking up the pace. In minutes Adam was pounding on the door to a small house, a house that he recognized.   
  
Vivi answered the door. Adam pushed past her and rushed inside. She gave a startled scream and then Rafa was there, holding Adam back and keeping him from Kris. Adam couldn’t think, couldn’t remember that these were allies. All he knew was that Kris was right there, lying on the bed with his eyes closed, and someone was between him and his lover. He fought dirty. In the background he could hear Allison hurriedly calming everyone with apologies and assurances. Then he was free and Kris was right there, warm and alive and so beautiful. Adam caressed his face gently with shaking fingers. Water rained down on Kris’ chest. Adam startled at that until he realized – they were his tears. He was crying. Great heaving sobs shook his entire body as all the tension and frustration and fear that he had worked so hard to keep in check came flooding to the surface.  
  
Then Kris opened his eyes. Leaning over Kris, Adam placed his arms on either side of Kris’ body and sheltered him from the world. He brushed his lips across Kris’ forehead as he whispered soothing reassurances of love and protection. Kris blinked. His eyes slipped over Adam’s face for a moment and then managed to focus on Adam’s eyes.   
  
“Adam?”  
  
“Kris, I’m here. I’m here baby, it’s Adam, I’m here.”  
  
Adam’s chorus of ‘I’m here, I’m here’ mixed with the music of Kris repeating his name over and over and then they were kissing, tears mixing on both their faces. Adam kissed Kris gently, mindful of his injuries. Dry press of lips against lips. Kris kissed him back hard and desperate. He was uncoordinated and frantic with no concern for his well-being. Adam pulled back, rested their foreheads together, and hushed him, calming him. He stroked his hands across Kris’ face, drinking in the sight of him, seeking spaces of home. The warmth of Kris’ breath on Adam’s face, the shape of his mouth. Adam felt whole again. For a long moment they just gazed at each other in disbelief, amazement, and profound relief. And love. So much love.  
  
A tentative hand brushed across Adam’s shoulder. It was Allison. She gave Adam a brilliant smile through her tears, then leaned down to give Kris a large smooch on the cheek. Cale bent to give Kris a tentative but heartfelt hug, and Tommy gave him a small wave from the side of the bed.  
  
Cale’s voice shook. “Kris, man, I am so happy to see you. I’m so sorry I didn’t stop them. I didn’t know.”  
  
“Glad you see you too.” Kris gave him a weak smile. “But what are you talking about? Nothing was your fault.”  
  
“Listen, I don’t mean to break up the reunion,” Tommy said, “But we still have some serious problems.”  
  
“Adam, what’s he talking about?”  
  
Adam looked down at Kris. He didn’t look well. His eyes were fever bright and his skin felt cold and clammy. There were bruises everywhere. Adam tried to push up Kris’ shirt to get a better look but Kris stopped him, covering Adam’s hand with both of his own. Adam could feel slight tremors running up and down Kris’ body.  
  
“Don’t.” Kris’ eyes were pained and pleading. “Just tell me what’s going on.”  
  
“Don’t be scared baby, but Lucas and Richelle are here.”   
  
Kris gasped. His eyes widened in panic and he gripped Adam tighter. Adam brushed Kris’ hair back.   
  
“It’s okay, I’m handling it.”  
  
“How did they even find us?” asked Allison.  
  
“Well, we haven’t exactly been keeping a low profile,” said Cale. “They probably followed us here.”  
  
“Shit,” she said. “We led them right to him.   
  
“Tommy, keep a look out the window. We can’t put Rafa and Vivi in danger. Allison, tell them. Maybe they should go stay somewhere else for a while. We’re getting out of here.”  
  
Kris had been frantically trying to get Adam’s attention with his limited strength.   
  
Adam brushed a thumb across Kris’ temple.  
  
“What is it baby?”  
  
“You shouldn’t have come. I don’t want him to get you too. You don’t know how bad they are. Lucas, he hurts people for fun. Now we’re both in their net.”  
  
For so long, Adam had felt like everything had been out of his control. Kris was ripped from him, the FBI wouldn’t tell him anything, and he’d been powerless and grasping at butterfly dreams in desperate hope. He’d hated it. But he’d done it. He’d found Kris. And now that he had Kris back, no matter what, it meant all was right with the world. There was no way in hell he was letting anyone hurt Kris ever again.  
  
“Shit Kris, I had to come. And fuck being in their net, they’re in my net now.”  
  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
  
Their truck lurched over the dirt road and everyone bounced, seat belts digging into their shoulders. A stray chicken flapped frantically out of their way as they zoomed past at 80 kilometers per hour. Adam didn’t know what that meant exactly, except that it was damn fast. They hit another bump in the road and Adam smacked his head on the window as he jerked in his seat. He braced his feet against the floor and tightened his arms around Kris, who was only half conscious. Unnatural heat radiated from his small body and soaked into Adam’s skin. He brushed a kiss across the top of Kris’ head.   
  
Cale was at the wheel while Tommy sat next to him, navigating with the satellite GPS. Next to Adam, Allison was shouting into the international phone. The wind whipped through her hair from a broken window. Adam looked back.  
  
“They’re gaining on us!”  
  
Cale clenched his jaw and pressed down on the accelerator. A town loomed ahead and Cale frantically pounded on his horn, warning people to get out of the way. He clipped the corner of a market stall, sending bananas and coconuts flying.  
  
“Sorry, sorry, sorry,” Cale mumbled. “Oh, God.” He swerved to avoid another pedestrian. Sweat poured down his face and he spared a moment to wipe it away from his eyes.  
  
In a minute they were free of the town with a long stretch of open road ahead of them. They flew, dirt cloud trailing behind them. But they had lost time. Lucas and Richelle had not bothered trying to avoid anything or anyone, they had sped straight through town and were now only four car lengths behind them.   
  
Shots rang out. Everyone ducked. The back windows shattered and rained down broken glass. When Adam next looked up he saw Allison’s hair sparkling in the sunlight.   
  
He looked back and saw Lucas’ face, twisted with rage and hate. Richelle was leaning out the passenger window with a pistol in her hand. She aimed at the wheels.  
  
“Cale, swerve!”  
  
Cale obliged as more shots rang out. A booming bang reverberated through the vehicle and suddenly the back end of the truck was swaying back and forth.  
  
“Shit!” Cale yelled. “Everybody hold on!”  
  
They were out of control and still going too fast. The truck bounced over a bump in the road and shifted off balance. Then, they were leaning, tipping over. They were falling. Adam cradled Kris’ head to his chest and leaned over to protect him. The truck slammed onto the driver’s side. Cale and Allison took the worst of it, screaming in pain and shock. Airbags deployed and still the truck dragged forward, driven by inertia. After what seemed like forever, they slid to a stop. Everyone was breathing hard. A powdery chemical smell lingered in the air.   
  
Adam checked on Kris. He was stirring, eyelids fluttering, and making small moans of pain.   
  
“Tommy, what’s our position?”  
  
“Latitude 16.97, Longitude 89.69.”  
  
“Allison.”  
  
“I’m okay, I got it, I’m on it.” She braced herself on the driver’s seat in front of her and struggled out of her seat belt.  
  
“We’ve got to get out,” said Cale. “They were right behind us.”  
  
Adam felt fingers brush across his chin. Kris was awake. Adam looked into Kris’ beautiful brown eyes. Eyes he had woken up to. Eyes that had seen his pain, his joys, his inner secrets. He kissed butterfly kisses across Kris’ eyelids, then leaned down to kiss Kris firmly on the mouth.  
  
“I love you, Kris Allen.”  
  
Kris’ lips trembled but his eyes hardened. He clutched at Adam a little more firmly. “Don’t say goodbye.”   
  
“Go with Cale, he’ll take care of you.”  
  
“Adam, no.”  
  
“Tommy, kick out the rest of the front windshield. Cale, take cover on the side of the truck. I don’t want Kris exposed, but I don’t want you guys trapped either in case you have to make a run for it. Take Allison and Tommy with you. I’ll distract them and buy us the time we need.”  
  
Allison and Tommy made to protest.  
  
“Shut up and do it! I don’t have time for this.”  
  
Adam passed Kris to Cale as Tommy began banging on the windshield. Hitching sobs escaped Kris’s lips as he desperately tried to hold on to Adam. Forcefully detangling Kris’ fingers from his shirt just about killed him.  
  
He shoved open his door and pulled himself up and out.  
  
Lucas and Richelle were waiting for him. They were standing close together. Richelle had a gun in her hand and her head leaned on Lucas’ shoulder. The happy couple.  
  
Adam jumped down from the side of the car to face them. He wished he’d had time to put some eyeliner on this morning.  
  
“Adam Lambert, gay sex symbol.”  
  
“Lucas and Richelle, cult psychotics.”  
  
“How does it feel to have turned a man away from his wife and down the path of the demons?”  
  
“Fuck you. There was no ‘turning’ involved. They’d always had big problems, even beyond that fact that Kris liked men. They divorced all on their own. And then Kris and I fell in love. We both love music, have the same sense of humor, and fit well together. Plus, he’s hot. Sorry, not the evil seduction I’m sure you were hoping for.” Adam sneered. “What were you thinking? Sex, drugs, and bitchcraft?”   
  
Richelle extended the gun and aimed at him. Adam tensed in preparation. She pulled the trigger and he lunged to the side. Nothing happened. She clicked the trigger a few more times, shrugged her shoulders, and then threw the gun to the side.   
  
Lucas stalked over to Adam.  
  
“Do you know how man and woman were created?”  
  
“Oh, shut the fuck up.” Adam slugged him across the jaw.   
  
Lucas fought back, punching Adam in the stomach. Adam kicked out, tripping Lucas and making him fall to the ground. Lucas grabbed at Adam, pulling him down. Then they were rolling around in the dirt, each trying to get the upper hand. Finally, Adam pinned Lucas and kneed him in the groin.  
  
“Sorry, Lucas, didn’t you know I like the top?”  
  
A screeching Richelle pummeled into his side, scratching his back and pulling his hair. Lucas reached for his throat. For a second, Adam panicked. He was outnumbered.  
  
Then Allison and Tommy charged into the fray. Allison grabbed Richelle’s long blonde hair and ripped her off Adam’s back. Tommy tackled her and the three of them tumbled in a mess of limbs, nails, and clouds of dirt.   
  
Lucas shoved Adam off of him.  
  
“Dirty little faggot!”  
  
“Bitch please, I’m anything but little.”  
  
They clashed again. Adam was tall, agile, and determined, but Lucas was bigger and had more muscle mass. Lucas swung and Adam ducked, then rolled out of the way with the agile grace of a dancer as Lucas kicked in his direction. Lucas pulled a knife from his boot and Adam swore. The knife stabbed down towards Adam’s head but Adam caught Lucas’ arm to hold him back. Adam was strong, but Lucas was stronger. Sweat slickened Adam’s grip and the knife slipped closer. Suddenly, someone hit Lucas’ side and sent him sprawling to the ground. Cale. All three of them scrambled for the knife, kicking and hitting each other all the while. Lucas slammed an elbow into Cale’s temple and he went limp. He shoved a steel-toed boot into Adam’s stomach and Adam bent over and gasped for breath. Then, Lucas was up, standing over him, knife in his hand.  
  
“Do you know what you are Adam Lambert? You are…” He raised the knife, ready to plunge.  
  
A body flew in front of Adam’s.  
  
“Kris, no.” Adam tried to push him away.  
  
“He’s Adam. Brilliant singer, amazing person.” Kris heaved in a breath. His voice shook. “I love him.”  
  
Kris rested his forehead on Adam’s. They locked eyes and everything they wanted to say passed between them in seconds. Love, desire, hope, and despair. Kris was shaking and his grip on Adam’s shoulders seemed more to hold himself up than to hold on to Adam.  
  
Adam tried to pull Kris behind him but the knife brushed against Kris’ cheek, stilling Adam’s movements. It moved down to Kris’ neck, forcing his head back into submission. Adam could only watch in horror as a thin trickle of blood made its way down Kris’ throat.  
  
Lucas leaned down and whispered into Kris’ ear. “A pity I don’t have the video camera handy.”  
  
Sirens blared, multiple voices shouted, and the whump, whump, whump and blasting air of a helicopter zoomed over them. Lucas twirled around in shock. Adam shoved his boot out, hitting Lucas in the ass and shoving him to the ground.   
  
FBI agents and local law enforcement surrounded them, guns drawn, and pinned Lucas to the ground. Elsewhere, others detangled Richelle from Allison and Tommy and slapped her in handcuffs. Paramedics surrounded Cale who was just starting to sit up.  
  
It was a whirlwind of controlled chaos. In the middle of it all, Adam knelt with Kris tucked into his shoulder and his arms around Kris’ back. It was over.  
  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
  
The next few days went by in a rush of helicopters, hospitals, embassies, and planes. Everything moved so fast. The media stormed around them as soon as they left rural Guatemala, but it was when they touched American soil that the storm became a tornado of epic proportions. Now the Internet was filled with pictures of Kris on a stretcher and Adam holding his hand, and pictures of Adam’s parents, the Allens, Tommy, Cale, and Allison forcing their way into the hospital.   
  
Everything outside their room was too noisy, but everything inside the room was too quiet.  
  
Adam lay down next to Kris on the hospital bed. He kissed Kris’ cheek as he listened to his even breathing.  
  
“Wake up,” he whispered.   
  
They had Kris on IV fluids, antibiotics, and pain medication. He trailed his fingers down Kris’ chest. The extent of his injuries had been more than Adam was prepared for. The visions hadn’t shown him everything. Whatever happened to those bastards in court would be too good for them. What the fuck had they done to his Kris? Adam’s hand hovered over the bandages on Kris’ hip. He had been there when they had cleaned out the wound and hadn’t that just been a bitch. He closed his eyes against the memories of Kris’ pain.  
  
God, he was so tired.  
  
A fluttering touch caressed the dark circles under his eyes.   
  
“Kris.” Adam’s eyes snapped open to see Kris looking at him, here, awake, safe, and finally the fighting mode inside of him eased into peaceful harmony. Adam had won. He’d taken control of his own destiny and pounded his enemy into the ground. Whatever came next, Adam knew they could get through it as long as he and Kris were together.  
  
“Did you sleep at all while I was gone?”  
  
Adam huffed out a hysterical laugh. What sleep he had forced upon himself hadn’t exactly been restful. Kris cupped Adam’s face with his palm and Adam leaned into the touch, briefly closing his eyes. There was so much to tell Kris, but it could wait for another day.   
  
“I’ll sleep now that you’re home.” Adam snuggled a little closer to Kris, desperate to hold him but wary of causing pain. “Tell me how you feel.”  
  
Shadows fell across Kris’ eyes and Adam stilled. He tried to read his expression, but he saw something in Kris that he’d never seen before. Beneath the pain and the fatigue, there was splintered glass in the windows to his soul. Adam’s battle was won, but he had a feeling that Kris’ was just beginning.   
  
“I want us to go home.”  
  
“Soon, Kris, soon.”   
  
Kris clutched at Adam’s shirt. “Don’t leave me.”  
  
Adam’s heart broke just a little. “Never. I’m right here. Forever. And if anyone parts us ever again, know that I’ll always find you. Nothing can keep us apart.”   
  
He leaned towards Kris and captured his lips with his own.  
  
  
  
**_The End._**  
  
  
  
**Continued in the final installment of the Liberation Duology: Reclamation[  
](http://community.livejournal.com/sapphire_fic/2700.html)**


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